She manages Housing and Urban Development's day-to-day operations, including a $45 billion annual budget and approximately 8,500 employees. As Women's History Month comes to a close, she's been sharing her experiences to help other women build successful careers in government. Nani Coloretti is the Deputy Secretary at HUD. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, she recounted growing up under the mild skies in Hawaii.

Two dozen federal employees will form a group advising the President on possible changes to the Senior Executive Service. The White House wants advice on improving how the government recruits, hires, develops and retains SES members. John Benison is the equal employment opportunity director at Housing and Urban Development, and a member of the president's advisory group. He joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with an early morning report.

The last round of base realignments and closures (BRAC) back in 2005 did some good. Many of the bases were repurposed and used to help the homeless. But BRAC had problems, too. As outlined in a new report from the Government Accountability Office, DoD and Housing and Urban Development don't track progress on base conversions very well. It's a concern as the Defense Department raises the urgency of its request for a new round of closures. Brian Lepore, director of Defense Capabilities and Management Issues at the GAO, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the problem.

On the first edition of "Disaster Relief for America", hosts Tim Karney and Tom Moran interview Bob Kolasky, the Director of Strategy and Policy for the DHS Office of Infrastructure Protection, and Harriet Tregoning, the Director HUD's Office of Economic Resilience, about their office's current initiatives.

Volunteers across the country recently set out to conduct a count of all homeless persons in their communities. It's part of Housing and Urban Development's annual point-in-time counts. In fact, HUD personnel themselves join in the overnight counting exercises. They're designed to tally the number of people living in emergency shelters and transitional housing. Jennifer Ho is the HUD Secretary's Senior Advisor on Housing and Services. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, she explained what the point-in-time counts accomplish.

It's fast times for the Housing and Urban Development Department. Secretary Julian Castro has established priorities for both internal operations and policy. Much of the execution falls to the new deputy secretary. Nani Coloretti was confirmed last month. She joined the Obama administration in the Treasury Department in 2009. She spoke with Tom Temin on the Federal Drive about her new post and agenda.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development increased its workforce by more than 10 percent in 2014. Michael Anderson, HUD's CHCO, said the agency found success by having the HR office collaborate with senior officials and program hiring officials to make the process more efficient.

Rafael Diaz, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's chief information officer, said he canceled the old approach to improve the agency's technology infrastructure, called HUDNet, and is embarking on a new plan.

The Treasury Department isn't quite getting ready for the Christmas buying season, but it is preparing for the shared services buying season. Treasury will release a catalog of shared services early in 2015.

When Hurricane Sandy rocked the East Coast in 2012, Marion Mollegen McFadden came to the rescue. As the executive director of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, she led the interagency effort to provide support to communities affected by the storm. Now, she's a finalist in the Management Excellence category for this year's Service to America Medal. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss her nomination. View a gallery of the Sammies finalists.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan has cleared his first hurdle on the way to becoming director of the Office of Management and Budget. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee gave him the nod, even though some members weren't thrilled with his answers to their questions. Federal News Radio's Executive Editor Jason Miller joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to recap the drama, and share details on everything else the busy committee did yesterday that could impact federal agencies. Read Jason's related article.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that connecting the management side with the budget side would better ensure financial and programmatic successes. Lawmakers pressed Donovan on his commitment to implement the DATA Act and reduce duplicative programs.

For her efforts in creating a data analysis system to measure the performance of federal housing programs, the Partnership for Public Service recently named HUD's Sara Meyers as one of the finalists for the 2014 Call to Service Medal.